He was the last singer of Paco de Lucía, who accompanied him the last three years of his life. David de Jacoba, from Motril, born in 1985, receives expoflamenco in his hotel room, while his son plays some video game on his mobile. A gypsy voice of enormous density and depth from the beginning, when he arrived in Madrid and was immediately recruited by several heavyweights of the flamenco, until the genius from Algeciras noticed him and he became one of the chosen ones. He still shudders remembering that stage of his artistic life and the enormous personal affection that the master gave him.
– You grew up knowing perfectly well who Paco de Lucía was, but how present was he in your life before you met him?
– Paco was a way of life at home. When we got up on weekends, when we didn't have school, the first thing we put on TV was Paco or Camarón, or both together. And on school days, in the afternoon we were always playing Paco's stuff. My brother Carlos, who is a guitarist, always had it playing, also Tomate's stuff… It was our school and our folklore, all day long.
- CamarónAs you say, he is one of your favourite singers. Have you ever asked Paco about him?
– Yes, although at first I was very shy. When I gained a little more confidence, of course I asked him: “Master, tell us something about Camarón”. And Paco, who was also very simple and very good, would tell things about José, a lot of anecdotes that left me speechless… For example, a chorus that said “Take it out, take it out, take it out now…”, and Paco said that originally it was different, but Camarón He didn't take it, Paco started laughing and in the end it was recorded as it is.
– Before Niño Josele brought you closer to the maestro, had you had any contact with him?
– With Paco, you mean? No. I came to Madrid around 2008 from Motril, and that year Josele heard me and took me in his band. And when Paco went on tour in 2010, he asked Josele how things were with singers. “Look, I’m bringing this kid from Motril.” “Let’s see, play it for him.” He played him some recordings and convinced him. “Bring him, we’ll take him on tour.”
– Is it true that the first contact was like an ambush, that you were not at all prepared?
– No, no, they told me that we were going to go see Paco at Javier Limón’s studio in Madrid, and I said, “Well, okay.” But when I saw myself there, I thought that this was a test to go on tour with the greatest of the greatest. And it was a shock for me. It was only two days, but what two days…
«When he arrived in Madrid he didn't know what gypsies and non-gypsies were. In Algeciras there was no distinction, they were all the same. And when he arrived in the capital he saw the racism there was. And he told me: “I would give an arm to be a gypsy, but deep down I live like this, I feel like this”. He had it inside, totally»
– Were you impressed by his physical presence, even before picking up the guitar?
– Of course, I was sitting there, and suddenly Paco arrives wearing a tracksuit and a cap, and my first impression was “how old he is!” Because I had always seen him young in photos and videos. But when that man grabbed the guitar and started talking, I said to myself: “What a mess I have gotten myself into.”
– With the guitar in your hands, did you feel transfigured?
– Paco was so special that… At the same time that you saw him as so big, so great, it was very natural. You thought he was going to be very distant, and it was the opposite. When you are with Paco, he makes you feel good, one more. I thought he was my uncle, something like that. And everyone felt that way with him. But when he played the first note, I looked at the others, at the children, and I felt like crying, because I thought: dream come true. That was the soundtrack for all the musicians who were there. And having him so close, when he played for example Love songI wanted to crash into the wall, because what we were experiencing was not normal. Something from infinite spaces that suddenly comes to sit by your side. It cannot be explained with words.
– You have also said that at first not even your voice came out of your body. Was that true?
– Yes, during the rehearsal he asked me if I knew the choruses, and I told him yes, but apart from that I never spoke. I just looked him in the eyes, paying close attention to what he was saying to me. And he told me: “You are going to come on tour with Duquende, and your voices are going to be great, and you are going to learn a lot with Juan.” And I thanked him. Look, at the first concert in Russia I cried so much in the dressing room before going out, because of the pressure I was under. And I couldn’t sing. I swear, Paco looked at me, “Let’s go!” and Paco was pissing himself, and he said to me “Don’t worry, that’s normal.”
– He was understanding, there was no argument…
– On the contrary, he gave me a hug while laughing, with a love and a greatness and a confidence that gave me…
–Have you ever acted with Duquende before?
– I knew him from listening to his records, but I had never sung with him. And it went very well for us, he also gave me a very nice place at first, he taught me many things, open your mouth here and there, breathe, little tips, little tricks that we singers have.
«It was a dream come true, the dream of any musician, of any reality. The highest. Paco calls you and you see him at the airport, and you go to eat with him… Many hours. He gave me affection, generosity… The day Paco left, you see, I missed him more than his music, just think what I'm telling you. Right now we're all orphans»
– And there comes a time when Duquende is no longer there, and you are there in front of him. How was that change?
– As I was saying, I started out very shy, and obviously I didn't have the experience I would have later, but in 2012 one day I saw Paco laughing after I sang. And for me that was very big, it was like gaining confidence on stage and I thought: this is mine. In order to enjoy myself, I hooked on something to start doing it, because until then I had that complaint: you have to see that I'm not singing as I really can. Of course, I had no experience, and I was next to guys like Alain, like Duquende... In that first concert that I told you about before, I saw that I didn't have the experience to go with Paco de Lucía. I tried to get my act together, listen to the music, and I was able to do it. cante, spending all day learning… And when Paco smiled at me, it was like an explosion for me. I broke chains. What happened? I got the hang of it, and from then on, beautiful things happened. And Paco, at a dinner, said to the musicians: “Have you noticed the change that David has made? What a joy! Now he's hooked!”
– What did Paco ask of a singer?
– Paco was a singer. And I remember things he used to say to me, like: “David, when cantes, no cante“Sing for nobody. Because nobody really knows. Sing for yourself, because the moment you like yourself, everyone will like you. Don’t waste your time singing for nobody, only the one who is throwing it out knows and feels that.”
– How did they agree on the letters?
– Look, we didn’t rehearse with Paco or anything, because who doesn’t know Paco’s music? I just wanted to make sure of the cuts, for example, what chorus we do here… But we didn’t meet anywhere to rehearse either. During the sound check we started to write lyrics, because he left us to our own devices, he didn’t like to stick to something… But within that, to see where we start, where we close, what chorus we go with… And during the rehearsals we wrote lyrics, he even sang, and very nice things happened. “Look, I like those lyrics you’ve written, do them after this falseta.” But without a script. I liked him for that reason too, he let things happen. When you close, you yourself make sure things don’t happen. He was very lively. That’s why he said he liked making a live album more than going into a studio. That’s why he made the album of concerts in Spain.
– Have you ever done long tours before?
– I was just before doing a few things with Tomatito, with Joaquín Cortés, with a company that Enrique Morente created… But not at this level. The first time I left was two months, very intense. It was a dream come true, the dream of any musician, of any reality. The highest. Paco calls you and you see him at the airport, and you go to eat with him… Many hours. He gave me affection, generosity… The day Paco left, look, I missed him more than his music, look what I'm telling you. Right now we are all orphans.
– Did you ever talk about your passion for the gypsy world?
– When he arrived in Madrid, according to what he told me at dinners where we spent the night chatting, he didn’t know what gypsies and payos were. In Algeciras there was no distinction, they were all the same. And when he arrived in the capital, that’s when he saw the racism there was. And he told me: “I would give an arm to be a gypsy, but deep down I live like this, I feel like this.” He carried it inside, completely. In fact, he once said: “The cante It is from the gypsies, although there are people who are not gypsies who sing very well. My brother Pepe is the best singer there is, but he lacks something that the gypsies have." And we with our eyes open, listening, and he continues: "I prefer a singer who doesn't know anything about cante but give me a woe that takes me to another world, that inspires me, before another who is not a gypsy but comes with the briefcase of cante“It bores me.”
«He once said: “The cante It is from the gypsies, although there are people who are not gypsies who sing very well. My brother Pepe is the best singer there is, but he lacks something that the gypsies have." And we with our eyes open, listening and he continues: "I prefer a singer who doesn't know about cante but give me a woe that takes me to another world, that inspires me, before another who is not a gypsy but comes with the briefcase of cante. It bores me”»
– Have you had a relationship with Pepe?
– Yes, and for me as a singer, that singing head, for me it has been the greatest thing. There is no one else like him, and he has not yet been given the place he deserves. The way he sings is not normal, the clever turns, he is a creature of the cante. Camarón I don't put him in it, but Pepe is the best for me... And Camarón Same, when he was going to record, El Loquito had to be there. Who was El Loquito? Pepe. “El Loquito isn’t there? Then I won’t record.” Pepe gave him lots of ideas, it was an injection of creativity.
– Everyone is talking about Paco’s joke. Tell me about your experience in this regard.
– I got something, even if it was in the last stage [laughs]. Paco liked to laugh a lot, to mess with everyone, to tease people… I can tell you that the first time Paco appeared at Javier Limón’s studio, with his tracksuit and cap, instead of saying good afternoon, he looked at us and asked, “Is this the shitty singer you’ve got me?” [laughs] It started there, the first day! Alain and Serrano were really pissed off, but they got into bad moods with each other. And Paco said to Serrano, “Alain’s music is happier, Antonio, your music is very funereal,” and he made him think… And so with everyone. I just remembered that when I sang, Duquende looked at Paco a lot. And Paco would tell me, “Don’t pay attention to anyone, but I often exaggerate the ole I give you, because I know that the Duquende will get annoyed, and that will make him want to increase it even more.” And in the middle of the concert he would say, “ooleeeeee!”, exaggerated, when I was singing, and then he would come out above me. And Paco would burst out laughing, of course.
– Did things go well with El Rubio, too?
– Yes, it was a short time but it was very good. At first he was also a bit short, but the first day he sang wonderfully and Paco liked it.
– Did your brother also have a relationship with Paco?
– Sure. Also, Carlos, when I joined Paco, he would tell me “learn these lyrics, I know Paco will like them.” For example, Juanito Villar’s endings, “oh, my God.” I did it in the rehearsal, Paco told me “do it again,” I did it, and he said “I don’t know why people don’t end like that these days, when Juanito Villar’s endings are so beautiful.” And my brother looks at me as if to say, do you realize? What a rascal. Carlos is a rascal at that.
– Were you ever able to show your music to the maestro?
– He is very shy, but when I was recording my album, I played a bulería for Paco. “Maestro, I’m recording with my brother Carlos, I’d like you to listen to this bulería.” “Play it for me, play it for me!” I put the headphones on at the airport, and he really liked it. And then at the sound checks Carlos was there, and Paco asked him a lot, “Carlos, how does it sound?” Or I would say to him, “I can’t play today, look at how I feel with my nail…”
«Paco was a singer. And I remember things he used to say to me, like: “David, when cantes, no cante"Sing for nobody. Because nobody really knows. Sing for yourself, because the moment you like yourself, everyone will like you. Don't waste your time singing for nobody, only the one who is throwing it out knows and feels that."
– He dedicated a taranta to you, didn't he?
– Yes, because I asked the maestro to record that taranta, but he was busy with the copla album, and he couldn’t play it. And when what happened happened, I dedicated it to him.
– Do you remember how you received the news of Paco’s death?
– Yes. I was working in Barcelona, they called me at midday. The night before I was with Piraña until four in the morning talking about Paco. And the next day they called us and all I could say was “it can’t be, it can’t be…”. That year we were going on tour, we had a full tour, the whole thing. I turned on the TV and obviously he was everywhere. And that night I was working. I had to sing because they couldn’t cancel, but I insisted that I couldn’t, because I had a lump in my throat. Your voice goes to one side, it’s different from playing an instrument, but if you feel like crying it’s impossible, your voice moves… And Juanito Villar’s child who was there saw me and said: “David, jump.” And I left exhausted. The stage reminded me of him. And the next day we went to Algeciras in the morning, Piraña and I.
– Does that memory still haunt you?
– Am I telling you the truth? I think of him every day. There is not a day that I don't remember him, because as I said at the beginning, in my house he was one more, like family. In my house I have pictures of him. Camarón And Paco, along with photos of my wife, my father, the Lord… And there they are. To record myself, to sing, I have to remember Paco. From the moments I have been with him on stage, that serves as inspiration, strength. That takes me to a place that gives me a level. He gave me advice about life, not about music…
– Let us finish by evoking some.
– He told me to enjoy life. “You are young, you are just starting to sing, enjoy it! Don’t tie yourself down!” I had to get married early, and he told me: “Don’t be so formal, don’t be so formal. Enjoy life, that’s what life is for.” ♦
Top image: promotional photo of the CD 'Jubileo'
